Our Team

Elena Marbán Castro is a global health researcher and implementation scientist. She holds a PhD in Translational Medicine from the University of Barcelona and the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal).

Her doctoral research focused the clinical and social effects of Zika virus infection during pregnancy and childhood outcomes. She worked from 2016 to 2022 at ISGlobal on epidemiological studies, clinical trials, mixed-methods and qualitative studies on vaccine preventable diseases at the Maternal and Child Health Depatment. In 2022, she joined FIND, the foundation for innovative new diagnostics (NGO based in Geneva) where she worked on the implementation of innovative screening and diagnostic tools for infectious diseases (COVID-19, malaria, HIV, Hepatitis) and non-communicable diseases, mainly, type 1 diabetes.

Her field experience extends across Southern Africa, South-East Asia, Eastern Europe, and South America, with emphasis on how to inform service delivery in resource-constrained settings by community perspectives. She is an Associate Professor at the Universitat de les Illes Balears where she teaches Nursing BSc students on Global Health issues. Additionally, she co-founded and Chairs Women in Global Health Spain. Since 2025, she collaborates with ISGlobal on artificial intelligence based diagnostics for malaria, neglected tropical diseases, tuberculosis and respiratory diseases in Africa and non-invasive tools for screening of meningitis. Her current responsibilities will be to support qualitative studies on innovative diagnostics considering communities perspectives. 

Lines of research

• Community perspectives of innovative technologies for global health applied to low-income settings
• Development of prevention, treatment and diagnosis of malaria, respiratory, neurological and systemic infections
• Implementation science of diagnostic tools
• Gender equity in global health

Main publications

• Fargnoli V, Calarco S, Thomas C, Thomas C, Mone Iye CN, Paz Soldan VA, Morrison AC, Serumondo J, Nshimiyimana L, Nsaba Uwera YD, Marbán-Castro E, Shilton S, Tetteh KKA. "It doesn't require blood!": Perceptions around non-invasive malaria testing tools in Indonesia, Peru, and Rwanda. PLoS One. 2026 Jan 9;21(1):e0318393. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0318393. PMID: 41511949; PMCID: PMC12788683. 
• Marbán-Castro E, Getia V, Alkhazashvili M, Japaridze M, Jikia I, Erkosar B, Del Rey-Puech P, Martínez-Pérez GZ, Imnadze P, Gamkrelidze A, Denisiuk O, Reipold EI, Shilton S. Implementing a pilot study of COVID-19 self-testing in high-risk populations and remote locations: results and lessons learnt. BMC Public Health. 2024 Feb 17;24(1):511. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-17930-2. PMID: 38368339; PMCID: PMC10874527.
• Marbán-Castro E, Villén-Gonzalvo A, Enguita-Fernàndez C, Marín-Cos A, Menéndez C, Maixenchs M, Bardají A. Uncertainties, Fear and Stigma: Perceptions of Zika Virus among Pregnant Women in Spain. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Sep 11;17(18):6643. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17186643. PMID: 32933007; PMCID: PMC7559627.
• Marbán-Castro E, Enguita-Fernàndez C, Romero-Acosta KC, Arrieta GJ, Marín-Cos A, Mattar S, Menéndez C, Maixenchs M, Bardají A. "One feels anger to know there is no one to help us!". Perceptions of mothers of children with Zika virus-associated microcephaly in Caribbean Colombia: A qualitative study. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2022 Apr 18;16(4):e0010328. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010328. PMID: 35436298; PMCID: PMC9015150.
• Marbán-Castro E, Goncé A, Fumadó V, Martínez MJ, López M, García-Otero L, Salazar L, Esteve C, Salvia D, Fortuny C, Eixarch E, Fuente-Moreno M, Pinazo MJ, Oliveira I, Rodríguez-Valero N, Requena-Méndez A, Camprubí D, Saco A, Castillo P, Vázquez A, de Ory F, Navero-Castillejos J, Casellas A, González R, Muñoz J, Gascón J, Ordi J, Menéndez C, Bardají A. Zika virus infection in pregnant travellers and impact on childhood neurodevelopment in the first two years of life: A prospective observational study. Travel Med Infect Dis. 2021 Mar-Apr;40:101985. doi: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2021.101985. Epub 2021 Feb 15. PMID: 33601028.